Automobile hood latch



' June 19, 1962 E. A. DACEY AUTOMOBILE HOOD LATCH Filed April 23, 1958 frzvn tor frne t A-. Ddce y T E T Lt L FII 1| I m I United States Patent 3,039,801 AUTOMOBILE HOOD LATCH Ernest A. Dacey, Royal Oak, MiclL, assigncr to Atwood Vacuum Machine Company, Rockford, Ill., 2 corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 23, 1958, Ser. No. 730,499 6 Claims. (Cl. 292-11) This invention relates to an improved hood latch especially designed for use on automobiles.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a hood latch of simple and economical construction designed to give a more dependable double locking action, so that in the event the hood is not pushed down far enough in the closing thereof for full and proper engagement of the main catch, a safety catch is certain of taking hold and preventing the hood from opening accidentally while the car is running.

In the hood latch of my invention the main catch, which is engaged by a keeper bolt carried on the hood, is releasable by means of a separate hand lever accessible through the grill from in front of the car, this lever being pivotally mounted on the same housing with the main catch carried on the radiator assembly, the safety catch being completely divorced from the main catch and its operator and pivotally mounted on a bracket fastened to the hood with the aforementioned keeper bolt. This safety catch has a pair of laterally spaced hook-shaped prongs which, in the dropping of the hood, slidably engage and ride under laterally projecting attaching ears provided on the aforesaid housing to catch thereunder and prevent accidental opening of the hood in the event the main catch has not taken hold. Spring means or rubber bumper means compressed in the closing of the hood and functioning as anti-rattle means cause the hood to pop open partway, when the main catch is released, and one can then easily reach a handle portion on the safety catch through the space between the front end of the hood and the top of the grill to release the catch and raise the hood.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in Which- FIGS. 1 and 2. are a side view and rear View, respectively, of a hood latch made in accordance with my invention, and

FIG. 3 is a top view of only a portion of FIG. 1, showing the relationship of the bracket on the hood to the housing on the radiator assembly.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these three views.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral 4 in FIG. 1 designates a portion of the front end of the hood over the engine of an automobile, and 5 a portion of the front end radiator assembly, at 6 being indicated a coiled compression spring suitably mounted under the front end portion of the hood at the middle for compression in the closing thereof to give the anti-rattle function desired and also load the spring enough to cause the hood to pop open when the main catch 7 is released, the safety catch 8 serving to limit the hoods pop-open movement, whereupon the handle of said catch becomes readily accessible for release of said catch to permit the final raising of the hood. A keeper bolt or stud 9, suitably secured to and extending downwardly from the front end portion of the hood 4, has a conically shaped head 10 on the lower end thereof behind which a projection 11 on the main catch 7 is arranged to engage when the hood is closed to fasten it releasably in fully closed position.

A bell-shaped collar 12 is slidably guided by its reduced upper end portion 13 on the bolt 9 behind the head 10 and has a flange 14 on the large end which serves as an abutment for one end of the coiled compression spring 6, the other end thereof having abutment with a washer 15 mounted on the bolt 9 in abutment with a lock nut 16. The latter is tightened after the bolt 9, which threads in a nut 17 welded to bracket 18, has been properly adjusted relative to hood 4 for proper cooperation with catch 7. The bracket 18 is suitably secured to a horizontal wall 19 on the underside of the hood, as by means of bolts entered in slots 20 provided in the bracket, thereby allowing correct lateral adjustment of bolt 9 for proper cooperation with catch 7. Bracket 18 has downwardly projecting ears 21 on which the safety catch 8 is pivotally mounted by means of rivets 22. Hence, the lateral adjustability of bracket 18 also enables getting the safety catch 8 properly located relative to the main catch 7 and its supporting housing 34, on the latter of which the safety catch takes hold. The safety catch 8 is generally U-shaped and thecross-portion 23 of the U has its lower edge curved forwardly, as indicated at 24, to define an operating handle by means of which the safety catch 8 may be swung forwardly away from housing 34 against the action of a coiled tension spring 25 to released position after the main catch 7 has been released and the hood has popped partially open under the action of spring 6. Spring 25 has one end hooked onto the cross-portion 23 of the U-shaped catch 8, as indicated at 26, and has its other end hooked onto a lug 27 bent inwardly from one of the ears 21. A lug 28 bent outwardly from the other ear 21 serves by engagement with one of the two downwardly projecting arms 29 of the safety catch 8 to limit its rearward swinging movement under the action of spring 25 after the hook-shaped lower end portions 30 of these arms, in the closing of the hood, after being cammed forwardly by slidable engagement of the inclined surfaces 31 on the books 30 with the downwardly curved front edge portions 32 on the two ears 33 provided on opposite sides of the housing 34, are swung rearwardly again under the action of the spring 25. Hooks 30 on the safety catch 8 engage under the edges 32 to limit pop-open movement of the hood when the main catch 7 is released in the preliminary portion of the raising of the hood after it has been closed, as well as to prevent accidental opening of the hood if in the closing of the hood the main catch 7 has not taken a secure hold on the head 10 of bolt 9, as when the hood is not slammed down or pressed down hard enough in closing.

The housing 34 is generally U-shaped in horizontal section, comprising a vertical cross-portion 35 and vertical side portions 36. The housing 34 is rigidly secured at its upper end to the underside of the horizontal top wall 37 of the radiator assembly 5 as by means of screws 38 which are passed through small holes provided in wall 37 and ears 33 and thread in nuts 39 welded to the underside of the two cars 33 provided on the side walls 36 of housing 34, and a third ear 40 provided on the cross-portion 35 of said housing. A larger aperture A is provided in the wall 37 with which the upper end of housing 34 registers and through which the head 10 on bolt 9 is arranged to pass freely in the closing and opening of the hood. However, the collar 12 in the closing of the hood seats on the top wall 37 of the radiator assembly and spring 6 is compressed preparatory to popping the hood open the next time the hood is unlocked by release of the main catch 7. Catch 7 is of inverted U-shaped sheet metal construction, the projection 11 previously mentioned being on the front of the crossportion 41, and the two arms 42 of the U being disposed on opposite sides of and pivotally connected to the opposite sides of housing 34 by means of a cross-pin 43. A lever 44 utilizes the head end of the pin 43 for its pivotal support on one side of the housing 34 and has a struck-out lug 45, the free end portion of which is disposed in spaced parallel relationship to the place of the lever to define a guideway 46 for the arcuate lower edge portion 47 of the adjacent side wall 36 of housing 34, said edge 47 being struck on an arc with the pivot pin 43 as a center. An inwardly bent .lug 48 on the upper end of the lever 44 projects through an arcuate slot 49 provided in the adjacent side wall 36 of housing 34, also struck with pivot pin 43 as a center, to limit the pivotal movement of the lever when the lever is swung in a clockwise direction about the pivot pin43 as a center by lifting on thehandle end 56 that is accessible through the front grill. Lug 48 serves to release main catch 7 and for this purpose engages a forward projection 51 on one arm 42 of the main catch. The main catch 7 is normally held under spring pressure in the locking position shown in FIG. 1, and lever 44 is also spring-pressed toward the retracted position shown with lug 48 engaging the forward end of slot 49. Hence, when the catch is disengaged by lifting on handle 50, the operation is against spring resistance and the parts both tend to return automatically to their normal positions when the handle 50 is released. As will now appear, the spring pressure active against the main catch 7 is separate and independent from that active on the lever 44, even though only a torsion single grasshopper type spring 52 is provided. This'spring has two coils 53 mounted on the pin 43 and has a loop 54 connecting the two coils and abutting the cross-portion 35 of housing 34, one of said coils 53 providing one free end portion 55 which by abutment with the back of the crossportion 41 of the catch 7 urges it normally toward engaged position, and the other free end portion 56 on the other coil 53 serving by engagement under an inwardly bent lug 57 on the pivoted portion of the lever 44 to hold the lug 48 normally in the retracted position in engagement with the front end of .slot 49. Manifestly therefore, the position of lever 44 is not disturbed when catch 7 is momentarily forced out of the way by the head lfion bolt 9 as the hood is dropped or pressed into closed position and the projection 11 on the catch 7 snaps into place over the annular shoulder 58 on the back of the head 19.

In operation, spring 6 normally holds collar 12 extended beyond the tapered head 16 of bolt 9, and therefore, in the closing of the hood, the collar engages the top wall 37 of the radiator assembly before the tapered head 10 passes through aperture A in wall 37 to'have locking engagement with main catch 7. Safety catch 8, in this closing movement of the hood, has its two arms 29 pass through openings 0 in wall 37 next to ears 33 and they ride at 31 on the rounded edges 32 of ears 33 and hence the hooks '30 are in position under ears 33 to take hold in the event the main catch 7 for any reason either fails of the hood by main catch 7, keeps theassembly free of rattle while the car is in motion and is powerful enough to pop the hood open partially if the main catch 7 is accidentally released or is purposely released by manual operation of handle 59 on lever 44. Safety catch 8 in either event limits the pop-up opening movement ofthe hood by engagement of hooks 30 under ears 33. If the hood became unlatched accidentally it is usually possible to latch it properly simply by sudden downward pressure on the front end. If the hood was unlatched by manual operation of lever 44 preliminary. to raising the hood, the operator then releases safety catch 8 by manual operation of handle 24 to raise the hood. The guide lug 45 'slidably engaging behind the arcuate edge portion 47 on. the side wall 36 of the housing 34 assures'correct relationship of lug 48 to slot 49 and main catch 7 despite the appreciable length of the manually operated portion of the lever 44 from the pivot 43. In other words, rough handling of lever 44 by a careless filling station attendant cannot harm the hood latch assembly.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. In a latch mechanism for releasably locking a raisable hood member in closed position relative to a supporting member wherein said latch mechanism includes an elongated keeper provided with a conical head on its outer end having a shoulder thereon annularly of the circular inner end thereof, said keeper adapted to be secured to one of said members, a latch support housing adapted to be secured to the other of said members and having a keeper receiving aperture through which at least the conical head of the keeper is entered, a U-shaped catch pivotally mounted on said housing on a pivot pin by means of the arms of the U-shaped catch and arranged to have the cross-portion of the U-shaped catch disposed transversely relative to said conical head to ride on the side of the conical surface thereof to engage behind said annular shoulder, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on said housing on the same pivot pin with and alongside said catch and having a lug'on one end arranged to engage one leg of said catch to swing it to retracted position upon pivotal movement of said lever, said lever ha 'ing a handle on the other end for manual operation thereof, and a torsion spring mounted on said pivot pin having an intermediate portion bearing against the housing for support and having opposed end portions, one of which engages the catch to urge it normally in one direction toward engagement with the annular shoulder on the keeper head, and the other of which engages the lever to urge it normally in the same direction as the catch to hold its lug in retracted relation to the catch.

2. A latch mechanism as set forth in claim 1 wherein said housing has two attaching ears on opposite sides thereof by means of which said housing is secured to one of said members, said member having openings provided therein adjacent said ears, and there being a springpressed safety catch pivotally mounted on the other of said members having two laterally spaced arms having hook-shaped portions arranged to pass through said openings to hook under said ears.

3. A latch mechanism as set forth in claim 1 including a lug on said lever defining a guide fork with said lever in which an edge portion of a wall of said housing struck on .an arc with the'lever pivot as a center is slidably engaged, whereby to maintain the pivoted end portion of said lever in a predetermined parallel hook-shaped portions. arranged to pass through said lever.

4. In a latch mechanism for releasably locking a raisable hood member in closed positionrelative to a supporting member and wherein said latch mechanismineludes an elongated keeper provided with a conical head on its. outer end having a shoulder thereon annularly of the circular inner end thereof, said keeper adapted to be secured to one of said members, a latch support housing adapted to be secured 'to the other of said members and having a keeper receiving aperture through which at least the conical head of the keeper is entered, said housing being U-shaped in horizontal section to provide parallel vertical side walls and a vertical connecting wall therebetween defining the keeper receiving aperture at one end and having outwardly projecting attaching ears on opposite sides of that end portion thereof, a U- shaped catch having arms disposed outside said housing on opposite sides of the vertical side walls of said housing and pivotally mounted'thereon on a pivot pin and having a cross-portion arranged to be deflected by slidable engagement with one side of the conical head on the keeper and engage behind the annular shoulder on said keeper head, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on one side of said housing on the same pivot pin with and alongside said catch and having a lug on one end arranged to engage one arm of the catch to swing it to retracted position and having a handle on the other end for manual operation thereof, and a torsion spring mounted in said housing on said pivot pin having a fixed intermediate portion engaging said housing for support and having opposed movable end portions, one of which engages the catch to urge it normally in one direction toward engagement with the annular shoulder on the keeper head, and the other of which engages the lever to urge it normally in the same direction as the catch to hold its lug in retracted relation to the catch.

5. A latch assembly as set forth in claim 4 wherein the member on which said housing is secured has openings provided therein adjacent the outwardly projecting ears, there being a spring-pressed safety catch pivotally mounted on the other of said members having two laterally spaced arms having hook-shaped portions arranged to pass through said openings to hook under said ears.

6. A latch mechanism as set forth in claim 4 including a lug on said lever defining a guide fork with said lever in which an edge portion of a wall of said housing struck on an arc with the lever pivot as a center is slidably engaged, whereby to maintain the pivoted end portion of said lever in a predetermined parallel relationship to said housing in the oscillation of said lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,316,692 Hill Apr. 13, 1943 2,756,086 Wade July 24, 1956 2,776,160 Krause Jan. 1, 1957 2,859,062 Hynes Nov. 4, 1958 2,912,272 Wade NOV. 10, 1959 

